Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Bestowing a Marriage
Liu Ye finally braced himself and walked in.
He knew that the person who had stayed behind today wasn’t actually that important in his master’s eyes.
In fact, it wasn’t even his master who had actively kept the man; rather, the other party had some private matter to report to Li Yun in person.
As Liu Ye entered, he felt a particularly displeased gaze land on him.
He didn’t turn around; he knew it had to be General Huaihua, Qin Shiqi, who had deliberately sought an audience with the Emperor today.
He had only one impression of the man—
a paper tiger.
In Liu Ye’s opinion, Qin Shiqi was now coasting on his former glory. Even the entire Huaihua General Mansion no longer possessed even ten or twenty percent of its past splendor.
"What is it?" When Li Yun saw Liu Ye enter, his attention shifted almost completely from the "arranged marriage" matter Qin Shiqi had just mentioned to Liu Ye himself.
Li Yun knew very well that Liu Ye’s appearance right now could only be related to one person in the palace.
Liu Ye stepped forward and whispered a few words.
Li Yun’s expression changed slightly.
’If it weren’t for this tactless visit from Qin Shiqi, I’d have been back with Ming Lingyi by now, having breakfast with her. Why am I still tied up here?’
Meanwhile, Qin Shiqi was also secretly observing the expression of Li Yun, who sat on the Imperial Throne.
He didn’t know what news Liu Ye had brought, but for it to make their usually inscrutable Emperor’s expression suddenly change, he was truly curious about what it could be.
"I will consider your matter. Go back and await news for now." Li Yun stood up from the dragon throne and spoke.
After saying this, he departed in a hurry, looking as if he indeed had something urgent to attend to.
Liu Ye, a step behind, was unexpectedly stopped by Qin Shiqi.
’Surprise and confusion appeared in Liu Ye’s eyes. ’Just now in the great hall, this man seemed quite displeased with me. Why is he stopping me now?’
"Mr. Liu." Qin Shiqi was quite curious why their Emperor had left in such a rush. Furthermore, judging by his direction, it seemed he was headed straight for his bedchambers.
’Could it be that some new person of interest has appeared in the rear palace?’
"Does the Emperor have someone new by his side?" Qin Shiqi asked.
Liu Ye’s expression remained unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat.
’This General Huaihua really hasn’t matured a day in ten years.’
Of all the generals who had fought alongside the late Emperor to conquer the realm, who didn’t now understand the clear line between ruler and subject? Who didn’t know that the former Crown Prince, now the Emperor, was their master? Were their master’s whereabouts and private affairs something an outside official could inquire about so casually?
For Qin Shiqi to ask such a question, it was obvious he still saw their Emperor as the young, green boy from his time at the border, the one who had to call him "Uncle Qin."
Liu Ye cupped his hands. "General Qin, you think too highly of this old servant. Who might be by the Emperor’s side is hardly something a person like me would know."
After saying this, Liu Ye walked away with a smile.
Watching Liu Ye’s back disappear down the small path, Qin Shiqi couldn’t help but spit. "What a creature!"
He had always looked down on these rootless eunuchs in the palace. He especially felt that those like Liu Ye, who managed to become the Emperor’s confidants, were all silver-tongued opportunists, social climbers not worth associating with.
Liu Ye took small, quick steps and soon caught up to the imperial-yellow figure ahead. He didn’t, however, take the initiative to tattle on Qin Shiqi to Li Yun.
After all, the palace was his master’s territory.
Nothing that happened in any corner of the palace, big or small, could possibly escape his master’s eyes and ears.
The matter of Qin Shiqi trying and failing to pry into the Emperor’s whereabouts today would certainly reach his master’s ears.
Ming Lingyi still hadn’t managed to leave the Imperial Palace before Li Yun arrived.
"Come, have a meal with me," Li Yun said.
Ming Lingyi’s sharp eyes spotted a dish of "Stuffed Silver Sprouts" among the breakfast items sent from the Imperial Kitchen, and she immediately sat down.
She had tasted many dishes from the Imperial Kitchen and quite liked them, but she couldn’t replicate them at Ming’s Restaurant.
These Stuffed Silver Sprouts were one such example.
It was a palace dish made with extremely simple ingredients but an incredibly complex technique.
To make it, you hollow out washed bean sprouts, then use a silver needle to thread a string coated in chicken paste. The string is then pulled through the hollowed-out sprouts, filling them with the paste. The resulting dish is called Stuffed Silver Sprouts.
Ming Lingyi had once nicknamed this dish "Pain-in-the-ass Veggies."
She had previously seen Li Yun enjoying it and, on a whim, went to the Imperial Kitchen to learn how to make it. But the moment she saw how the master chefs in the Imperial Kitchen prepared the dish, Ming Lingyi immediately gave up the idea.
’Anyway, this kind of delicate work... I’ll probably never be able to master it in this lifetime.’
Now, seeing this very dish as part of Li Yun’s breakfast, Ming Lingyi of course had to sit down and savor it.
This was something you couldn’t eat once you left the Imperial Palace.
"You like it?" Seeing Ming Lingyi repeatedly pick at the Stuffed Silver Sprouts, Li Yun slid the plate directly in front of her. "If you don’t want to come back to the palace, I’ll send someone to the restaurant to make it for you."
Ming Lingyi: "...Let’s not. An Imperial Chef at my restaurant? How conspicuous would that be?"
"Then I’ll have him go to the residence next door. You can go whenever you feel like it," Li Yun said.
In fact, in the residence right next to Ming Lingyi’s restaurant, there were already quite a few chefs from the Imperial Kitchen on standby at all times.
They were there for the times when the Emperor would occasionally leave the palace to stay at the residence and would require a group of people to serve him.
Ming Lingyi: "...That’s not necessary, either. It’s not like I love it that much. But, since I can’t get it outside, trying it once in a while isn’t a bad idea."
Just as she finished speaking, someone approached.
Seeing the person, Li Yun gestured for them to speak directly.
The person had come to report the conversation that had just taken place between Qin Shiqi and Liu Ye.
Ming Lingyi hadn’t been paying much attention at first, but when she heard the name "Qin Shiqi," she paused her chopsticks and glanced at Li Yun curiously.
After the unremarkable-looking eunuch withdrew, Li Yun sneered, "So many years, and that Uncle Qin of mine still hasn’t changed one bit."
Ming Lingyi asked, a little curious, "What did Qin Shiqi want with you? Was he the one you were meeting today?"
Li Yun was about to speak, but before he could say anything, he seemed to suddenly recall Qin Shiqi’s words from earlier. His gaze fell on Ming Lingyi’s face, and now he was considering whether he should tell her at all.
After all, the matter was also somewhat related to Jiang Yuchuan.
He really didn’t want that person’s name to come up in a conversation with Ming Lingyi.
It truly annoyed him.
But his hesitation was only momentary. Li Yun quickly changed his mind and said, "What important business could he have with me now? He just wants me to arrange a marriage for his daughter."
Ming Lingyi: "?"
